LG And GM Build Second Battery Factory For US $ 2.3B Worth Of EVs

Construction of the Ultium Cells LLC battery cell manufacturing facility (ANTARA / GM / Roger Mastroianni)

JAKARTA - Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solutions and General Motors, announced an investment of more than US $ 2.3 billion to build a second plant in the United States, located in Tennessee, which produces electric vehicle (EV) battery cells.

The joint venture between LG and GM called Ultium Cells will build a second US plant with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, citing Yonhap News Agency, the joint venture between LG and GM is to build a second US plant with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, similar to the first being built in Ohio.

"With the construction of the joint venture plant, LG Energy Solutions has secured additional EV battery production capacity in the US and will actively target the fast growing US EV market," LG Energy said in a statement.

The Tennessee plant will have an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours when it opens by the end of 2023, enough to provide battery packs for more than 500,000 electric vehicles, the Korean company said.

LG Energy said in a regulatory directive on Friday that they and GM would each invest $ 933.5 million in a battery production line through 2023.

The planned construction of an EV battery plant comes as GM plans to phase out its internal combustion engine cars by 2035 and sets a goal of offering 30 all-electric models by the middle of this decade, which will require a steady supply of EV batteries.

LG Energy currently operates a lithium-ion battery plant in Michigan and is building a new plant in Ohio through Ultium Cells, which will be completed in 2022.

The world's number two battery maker said last month it plans to invest more than 5 trillion won to expand US battery production capacity by 2025, including a scheme to build at least two new plants.

LG Energy pledged to boost its US EV battery business after recently struck a deal on a two-year trade secret suit over electric car battery technology. Its smaller rival, SK Innovation Co. agreed to pay 2 trillion won to LG Energy.